Wisconsin basketball (23-8, 13-7 Big Ten) fell to No. 18 in the latest edition of the AP Poll.

The poll’s update arrives after the Badgers’ 1-1 week on the hardwood, which included a much-needed seven-point road win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers and a disheartening 11-point defeat to Penn State.

While the triumph against Minnesota showcased Wisconsin’s poise and depth in a harsh road environment, the loss to the Nittany Lions was the most detrimental of any Wisconsin experienced this season. The result dropped Greg Gard’s team six spots in the latest AP Poll, down to No. 20 in the NCAA’s NET rankings and to No. 14 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. The Badgers are also down four spots (from No. 19 to No. 23) in the ESPN BPI and two spots in KenPom (from No. 10 to No. 12).

Most importantly, Wisconsin relinquished an opportunity to clinch a double-bye in the 2025 Big Ten Tournament. The team will now square off against the winner of Minnesota-Northwestern in the second round on Thursday, March 13.

Wisconsin is one of seven Big Ten teams in the latest AP Top 25. Michigan State holds the No. 7 position after wins over Iowa and Michigan. Maryland (No. 11), leapfrogged the Badgers after convincing wins over Michigan and Northwestern punctuated an outstanding 2024-25 slate. Purdue (No. 20), Michigan (No. 22), Oregon (No. 23) and Illinois (No. 24) all moved from the ‘receiving votes’ section into the top 25.

UCLA, which defeated Wisconsin in late January, also received 52 votes to remain in the ‘receiving votes’ section.

Texas A&M’s big-time win over Auburn on March 4 made the Aggies the biggest mover in this week’s poll (up eight spots from No. 22 to No. 14). The BYU Cougars were another big mover (up six spots from No. 23 to No. 17) after a road win over Iowa State on March 4.

Wisconsin, alongside Missouri, Michigan and Marquette, dropped at least five spots to close the regular season. No other program fell more than four spots in this week’s edition.

Outside of Penn State, every team to beat Wisconsin this season either made it into the AP Top 25 or the ‘receiving votes’ section. That type of resume accurately portrays Wisconsin’s top-end form throughout the year.

The Badgers’ NCAA Tournament seed will depend on how they perform in the conference tournament. Until then, UW will concentrate on preparing for the Golden Gophers or Wildcats on March 13.

John Tonje, a senior transfer wing at Wisconsin, has been unanimously named a first-team All-Big Ten selection by coaches and media. This marks the first time a Badger has achieved this distinction since Johnny Davis in 2022 and the 16th all-time for the program since 1948.

Tonje led the team in scoring, averaging 18.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, contributing significantly to Wisconsin’s surprising fourth-place finish in the conference. He’s also received accolades such as Transfer of the Year and third-team All-American from various outlets. Wisconsin is set to commence postseason play in the Big Ten Tournament against the winner of Minnesota and Northwestern.

Tonje averaged 18.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game in 31 starts.

He scored 22.5 points per game against top-50 ranked teams, shooting 43.2% from beyond the arc.

Tonje recorded four 30-point games this season, the most among major conference players.

Wisconsin tied for fourth in the Big Ten, far exceeding their preseason expectation of a 12th-place finish.

They are the No. 5 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, set to play Thursday in Indianapolis.

Wisconsin will face the winner of the game between No. 12 Minnesota and No. 13 Northwestern, with potential implications for NCAA tournament seeding depending on their performance.

Wisconsin basketball’s latest top transfer addition officially etched himself into program lore on Tuesday.

Following a remarkable regular-season slate, Badgers wing John Tonje earned a unanimous spot on the 2024-25 All-Big Ten First Team. He becomes the 12th Badger since 2000 to pocket a first-team distinction.

Tonje accompanied Nebraska’s Brice Williams, Maryland’s Derik Queen, Michigan’s Vladislav Goldin and Purdue’s Trey Kauffman-Renn and Braden Smith on the top group. He, Williams, Smith and Kauffman-Renn earned the honor unanimously.

The North Omaha, Nebraska, native put together one of the most impressive seasons by any player in the country. In 31 starts this season, the 6-foot-5 playmaker averaged 18.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 31 minutes per appearance. He did so off 46.0% shooting from the floor, 37.8% from outside and 91.6% from the charity stripe as his team’s undisputed offensive engine.

Outside of the statistical outputs, Tonje pocketed three Big Ten Player of the Week nods throughout the season, plus the 2024 Greenbrier Tip-Off Tournament MVP award. He scored at least 20 points on 12 occasions, including four games of at least 30.

Arguably Tonje’s most impressive game came against Arizona in mid-November, a team ranked No. 9 in the AP Poll at the time. He scored a season-best 41 points and poured in 21 free-throw attempts to lead Wisconsin to one of its best wins of the season.

Tonje remained UW’s most steady option for the remainder of the season, specifically propelling it to a November non-conference tournament victory at the Greenbrier Tip-Off and an impressive road win over Purdue on Feb. 15. Tonje’s emergence is arguably the primary factor for Wisconsin’s overachievement in a challenging 18-team Big Ten Conference.

Wisconsin will certainly require his brilliance when it plays the winner of Minnesota-Northwestern in the second round of the 2025 Big Ten Tournament on Thursday. He scored 27 points against the Wildcats on Feb. 1 and averaged 17 in two games against the Golden Gophers this season.

The Wisconsin Badgers decided to have their worst game of the season as their final regular season game. It was a brutal and frustrating loss in which Wisconsin looked lost and confused for half the game and couldn’t drop shots. They also added another injury to their report in Nolan Winter, who had something happen in his shoulder on a dunk. It was layers of frustration and disappointment.

The AP Top 25 also recognized it as a bad day for the Badgers, dropping them six spots from No. 12 to No. 18. The Badgers don’t look like the same team from February and hopefully getting Max Klesmit back from injury will make a huge difference and get the trajectory of the post season on the right track. The sky is the limit for this team, but they also know how to play in the basement.

Fans definitely feel the team deserved to be dropped in the polls, and some are frustrated enough to wonder how they are still ranked. However, the Badgers’ resume is still as strong as that of any top-15 team in the country. They only have one Quad-2 loss and six Quad-1 wins. That’s elite still even with a clunker to end the season against Penn State.

The Badgers are still projected to be a three-seed in the NCAA tournament, and they are currently in the five-seed spot for the Big Ten Tournament. While in years past, Big Ten Tournament games didn’t change a resume much, winning the whole thing would go a long way for the Wisconsin Badgers, not only for momentum into the NCAA Tournament but also for seeding.

The Wisconsin Badgers’ first game (second round) in the Big Ten Tournament is Thursday, March 13, against the winner of the No. 12 Minnesota Golden Gophers and the No. 13 Northwestern Wildcats.

As a disappointed University of Wisconsin’ men’s basketball team was leaving the court Saturday afternoon — and an equally frustrated crowd was filing to the exits as well — public-address announcer Mike Mahnke delivered some announcements.

Mahnke thanked fans for packing the Kohl Center this season, ending that thought with a dose of optimism. “We have a lot of season left,” Mahnke said.

Mahnke is a jovial man who was just doing his job.

There’s no reason to scrap the plan of letting people know that tickets are still available for the upcoming Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.

But pardon any skeptical ears in the house following the No. 12 Badgers’ 86-75 loss to Penn State.

After that performance, it was fair to question whether Wisconsin actually does have a lot of season remaining in front of it.

Even Badgers coach Greg Gard admitted as much following a stunning defeat that sticks out like a blemish on an otherwise glowing resume for his team.

“Like I told them, we’re lucky. We get to play again,” Gard said.

“But from here on out, if you play like this, you won’t play long.”

The season for Penn State may be over. Coach Mike Rhoades was more focused on enjoying his team’s season-best victory than wondering if Penn State would be invited to one of the lower-tier postseason tournaments later this month.

The Nittany Lions (16-15, 6-14) will not be able to make it to the Big Ten tournament.

Despite manufacturing a productive 2024-25 campaign, Wisconsin transfer guard Connor Essegian was quiet as Nebraska suffered a season-ending loss to Iowa on Sunday.

The former Badger went 0-for-11 from the field and 0-of-8 from beyond the arc in 24 minutes of action. He scored two points from the charity stripe and grabbed four rebounds in Cornhuskers’ 83-68 loss.

To make matters even worse for Nebraska fans, the loss eliminated the team from the 2025 Big Ten Tournament. Entering Sunday, Nebraska held a three-way tie for 11th place in the conference with Minnesota and Rutgers (7-12). Its contest against Iowa, the Big Ten’s 16th place team at 6-13, was a win-and-in scenario for both teams, with the loser to drop out of the field.

The result capped off what has become a late-season collapse from the Cornhuskers. The team was 17-9 (7-8 Big Ten) after a win over Northwestern on Feb. 16. Since then, Nebraska dropped five straight Big Ten games to Penn State, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio State and Iowa, respectively. It dropped from a likely NCAA Tournament team to missing the conference tournament entirely.

Essegian did score 20 points in the Cornhuskers’ 17-point loss to the Nittany Lions on Feb. 19, 11 in their buzzer-beater loss to Minnesota and 16 in a 2OT loss to Buckeyes. However, he mustered only two points against the Wolverines and two, on 0-of-11 shooting, against the Hawkeyes. That quiet outing against Iowa included the most three-point attempts and third-most shot attempts on the team.

While discouraging, Essegian did enjoy success in his first year in Lincoln. In 31 games, he averaged 10.4 points off 37.6% shooting from outside and 84.3% from the free throw line in over 22 minutes per appearance. He scored at least 20 points on four occasions as one of the nation’s most dangerous shooting options off the bench.

During his pair of seasons in Madison, he accounted for 7.6 points and 2.3 rebounds off 40% from the field and 34.5% from deep. As a freshman, he burst onto the scene with an 11.7-point, 3.7-rebound season that netted him 2023 Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors.

Essegian and Nebraska will enter 2025-26 looking to avoid a repeat of this year’s disappointing finish.